The present disclosure relates to portable docking systems, and more particularly to portable docking systems that accommodate the rise and fall of water levels.
Captains of boats and other vessels that navigate waterways should take the rise and fall of the water levels into account. For example, along some shore lines, the water level varies greatly between high tide and low tide. The geographic shape of the shoreline may contribute to how much the water level varies. In some locations, the difference between the water level at high tide and the water level at low tide can be as much as 16 meters. In other areas, the difference between the water level at high tide and the water level at low tide can be as little as a few centimeters. More generally, the water level may vary between about 1 to 2 meters between high and low tide.
The captain of a boat considers the current water level and possible future water levels when docking a vessel. If the captain secures the boat tightly to a dock at high tide, in as little as two hours the boat could be hanging from the dock with little water beneath it, causing damage to the boat and to the dock. For this reason, many boaters have to continuously readjust their mooring to keep their boat level as the water level changes. This causes great inconvenience for the captain of the vessel, who may have to return to the boat every 20 or 30 minutes.
Further, the water along the docks may be choppy as surface waves reach the shore. The wake from other boats cause further waves that cause a docked boat to bob alongside the dock. Some waves are large enough to propel a boat against a dock or another boat with great force, causing damage to the dock and boat. Thus, the captain must secure the boat tightly against the dock to hold the boat in place against wave forces.
In addition to securing a boat to the dock piling, the boat may need to be cushioned against wave forces. Generally, wave forces may cause the boat to come into contact with the dock pilings. In order to prevent damage to a boat, there is a need for a structure such as a fender to cushion the impact of between the boat and dock piling.
The need to secure the boat against wave forces can be contrary to the need to allow the boat to freely rise and fall with the water level during high and low tide. For inexperienced boaters, it may be particularly difficult to balance these opposing requirements. If a mooring line is left loose enough to allow the boat to drop 2 meters with the tide, the 2 meters of slack will allow the waves to cast the boat against the dock, creating the potential for damage. If the mooring secures the boat to the dock, the boat may be unable to move when the tide changes, creating the potential for damage.
Successfully securing a boat to a dock may be time consuming and inconvenient, depending on the experience of the captain of the boat. Although spring lines may be employed as a means for mooring boats, such devices involve complicated arrangements of lines and may be difficult for amateur or inexperienced boaters to use. Furthermore, the time required to set spring lines correctly, even for an experienced boater, may be inconvenient. Even after spring lines are initially configured, the captain of the boat may still need to adjust the lines to accommodate the rising and falling of the water level or to prevent interference with existing dock lines.
Various docking systems are known in the art that attempt to solve these problems. Docking systems are available for permanent installation at a dock providing a mechanism that moves vertically with the water level, but is securely attached to the dock. But this is not a satisfactory solution for the captain of a vessel who wishes to temporarily dock during an outing, such as docking along-side a work-site, a cargo dock, a restaurant, a recreation area, or any other temporary and short term docking situation. There remains a need in the art for a mooring device that securely moors a vessel to a dock yet accommodates the changing water level of the body of water.
The portable water level-responsive mooring device comprises a mooring strap comprising a length of cord, the length of cord being sufficient to wrap around a dock piling; a ring removeably affixed to one end of the mooring strap; a clip removably affixed to an opposite end of the mooring strap, the clip capable of releasably attaching to the ring; a plurality of spacing tubes; and a plurality of rollers having an outer diameter greater than the outer diameter of the spacing tubes and an aperture axially positioned there through, the cord positioned within an arrangement of the spacing tubes and rollers.
The portable water level responsive mooring device also comprises a method of securing a vessel to a dock piling and responding to a water level that comprises providing a portable water level-responsive dock securing system comprising a mooring strap comprising a length of cord having a ring on one end capable of releasably attaching to a clip on an opposite end, a plurality of spacing tubes and a plurality of rollers having an outer diameter greater than the outer diameter of the spacing tubes and an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the cord, the cord positioned within an arrangement of the spacing tubes and the rollers, the length of cord being sufficient to wrap around a dock piling; wrapping the mooring strap around the dock piling; attaching each mooring strap clip to the ring such that the vessel is adjacent the dock piling; and translating the mooring strap along the dock piling by the rollers as a water level changes.
The portable water level-responsive mooring device also comprises a cleat strap comprising a cord having a loop capable of engaging a boat cleat and a ring opposite the loop; a mooring strap comprising a length of cord having a clip on each end capable of releasably attaching to the ring, a plurality of spacing tubes, and a plurality of rollers having an outer diameter greater than the outer diameter of the spacing tubes and an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the cord, the cord positioned within an arrangement of the spacing tubes and the rollers, the length of cord being sufficient to wrap around a dock piling; and a fender having a clip capable of releasably attaching to the ring. The dock securing system further comprises an extension strap comprising a cord having an extension strap clip on one end and an extension ring on another end, the extension clip capable of releasably attaching to the extension ring to form a loop capable of receiving one or more mooring strap clips, the extension strap clip capable of releasably attaching to a cleat strap ring.